1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a painting accessory for use in connection with a paint roller. The paint roller cover extender has particular utility in connection with allowing the user of a paint roller to paint corner areas of a room without using a separate brush.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The conventional method for painting the interior walls of a house is to use a roller-type applicator. A paint roller consists of a handle with a rotatable extension upon which a cylindrical applicator head is placed. The roller head is rotatable about its longitudinal axis and has an outer surface made of a paint retentive material such as lamb's wool. Paint is placed on the surface of the roller head from a paint reservoir and is applied to the desired surface by moving the handle up and down or back and forth, resulting in the roller head moving over the surface and evenly spreading the paint on the surface. For the major portion of the wall, this is an acceptable means for producing an even coating of paint; however, any corners, edges, or raised surfaces present a problem. Typically, the painter spreads paint within a few inches of these areas, lets the paint dry, and then returns at a later time to paint these areas with a paint brush. This technique does not necessarily produce an evenly painted surface. Therefore, a device which allowed the painter to spread paint in the corner area while painting the adjoining wall space would make painting a room easier, less expensive, and less time consuming while producing a smooth, uninterrupted layer of paint.
The use of paint roller accessories is known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,959,800 to Edward S. Bischoff discloses a snap on brush for a paint roller that provides a snap on means for attaching a paint brush member to the roller axle. The paint brush member includes the bristles of a paint brush attached to a base which is mounted on the roller axle at the distal end, relative to the handle of the roller. However, use of the Bischoff '800 device to paint corners would not necessarily produce an even layer of paint since some portions would be painted with the roller surface and other portions with the brush member of the device. Additionally, use of the Bischoff '800 device requires the purchase of a specialty roller which internally feeds paint to the roller and brush attachment. If the specialty roller is not used, the apertures in the base of the brush member would allow paint to drip into the internal area of the roller, resulting in messy and time consuming cleanup.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,185,780 B1 to Walter D. Napolitan discloses a corner paint roller that consists of an end cap with a mounting prong projecting perpendicularly from it. The mounting prong engages a space existing between the inner surface of the roller cover and the outer surface of the roller frame barrel so that the possibility of damage to the possibly damp paper tube of the roller cover is avoided when the end cap is installed. However, due to the single point attachment of the Napolitan '780 B1 device to the roller cover, it could possibly come loose or completely detach from the cover, resulting in paint in an unwanted area where the cap falls or a nonuniform application of paint on the wall. Additionally, the painter would have to reposition the cap on the roller, forcing him to stop his task and work with a cap that is covered in paint. Lastly, since the Napolitan '780 B1 device is not securely attached to the roller cover along its edges, paint could seep into the internal portion of the roller. This would lead to a messy and time consuming clean up when the painting task is completed.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,264 to Curtis N. Knowles discloses a paint roller corner cover which is inserted into the end of the roller. The device uses an annular flange for insertion into the open end of a paint roller with a series of integrally molded, circumferentially spaced lugs protruding from the flange for engagement with the inside of the roller cover. However, the protruding lugs of the Knowles '264 device might tear the inner surface of the paint roller, especially if the end cap is inserted after moisture has accumulated inside the roller cover either from the coating being applied or from a previous cleaning. Furthermore, the thickness of the Knowles '264 device might preclude its use with some pain roller barrels.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,047 to John W. Armaly, Jr. discloses a specialty paint roller cover that includes an inner core with two separate core elements over which a cover is attached. The two elements can be twisted to provide a “rag” finish when painting a surface. However, the Armaly, Jr. '047 patent does not address the problem of painting corners with the roller unit. Therefore, any corners or raised areas of the wall would still need to be painted with a brush, resulting in a nonuniform pattern on the wall and increasing the time required to finish the job. Additionally, use of the Armaly, Jr. '047 device requires the purchase of a specialty roller unit, precluding the use of preexisting units and increasing the cost of the project.
Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,140 to Stephen B. Downing discloses a painting device that consists of a modified roller cover for producing a textured pattern when painting. The roller cover has raised designs on the surface and can be placed over a conventional roller. However, the Downing '140 device is intended to produce a very specific pattern and would not be useful for conventional paint jobs. Furthermore, the Downing '140 patent does not address the issue of painting the corner areas of a room; therefore, the user would still need to wait for the wall to dry and then paint the corner areas with a brush. This might not result in a uniform pattern in the paint.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,179 to Paul B. Wright and Mary V. Ward discloses a decorating tool for a paint roller that provides a broken or “distressed” pattern and consists of a roller cover with attached flexible fabric flaps. However, the Wright, et al. '179 patent makes no provision for painting the corner of the wall with the roller; thus, the corner area of the room would need to be painted with a brush and might not have a matching pattern. Moreover, use of the Wright, et al. '179 device requires the user to wait for the main portion of the wall to dry before painting the corner, increasing the amount of time necessary to paint a surface. Finally the Wright, et al. '179 patent requires the purchase of a specialty roller cover and does not allows the painter to use any preexisting roller covers.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 285,146 to David Abellira discloses the ornamental design for a paint roller cover or similar article that consists of a material formed in a sleeve with a first closed end and a second open end. The sleeve looks as though it can be pulled over the roller. However, the Abellira '146 device is not completely closed on the first end, instead seemingly gathered toward the center of the end. This could lead to paint seeping into the internal area of the roller, resulting in a messy and time consuming clean up when the painting task is completed.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a paint roller cover extender that allows the user to place a uniformly patterned layer of paint on the entire wall surface of a room without employing a paint brush to paint corners. Use of the Bischoff '800 device to paint corners would not necessarily produce an evenly patterned layer of paint since some portions would be painted with the roller surface and other portions with the brush member of the device. Moreover, the Armaly, Jr. '047, Downing '140, and Wright, et al. '179 patents do not address the problem of painting corners with the roller unit. Therefore, any corners or raised areas of the wall would still need to be painted with a brush, resulting in a nonuniform pattern on the wall. In addition, the time required to finish the job would increase because the paint on the wall would need to dry before the painter could use the brush to finish the corner area. The Bischoff '800, Armaly, Jr. '047, and Wright, et al. '179 patents require the purchase of specialty devices that would preclude the use of preexisting rollers or roller covers and increase the expense of the painting job. Furthermore the Bischoff '800, Napolitan '780 B1, and Abellira '146 devices could allow paint to leak into the internal portion of the roller, leading to a messy and time consuming clean up when the painting task is completed. Additionally, due to the single point attachment of the Napolitan '780 B1 device to the roller cover, it could possibly come loose or completely detach from the cover, resulting in paint in an unwanted area where the cap falls or a nonuniform application of paint on the wall. Should the cap of the Napolitan '780 B1 come loose or detach, the painter would have to reposition the cap on the roller, forcing him to stop his task and work with a cap that is covered in paint. The protruding lugs of the Knowles '264 device might tear the inner surface of the paint roller, especially if the end cap is inserted after moisture has accumulated inside the roller cover either from the coating being applied or from a previous cleaning. Furthermore, the thickness of the Knowles '264 device might preclude its use with some paint roller barrels. Finally, The Downing '140 device is intended to produce a very specific pattern and would not be useful for conventional paint jobs.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved paint roller cover extender that can be used for applying a uniform layer of paint to the entire wall surface without employing a paintbrush to apply paint to the corner area. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. In this respect, the paint roller cover extender according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of decreasing the amount of time and effort required to paint an entire surface while increasing the uniformity of the paint layer applied.